Turkey holds snap election

Ankara: Turks voted on Sunday to elect 550 members of parliament in a snap election just five months after the June polls.

The election is unlikely to result in the formation of a single-party government as no political party seems able to get a majority, similar to the outcome of the last battle, Xinhua reported.

In the June 7 election, the ruling party lost its 13-year majority and failed to form a coalition government.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) founded by Turkish President Recep Erdogan failed to gain 276 seats in parliament, the number needed for a legislative majority. It formed an interim government.

But the AKP was still in the lead with 40.87 percent of the votes garnered, followed by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) with 24.95 percent, according to the Supreme Election Council.

Around 385,000 security officers were called in to provide security since the country has been in tension of renewed clashes between government troops and the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) forces since July.

Over 54 million Turks are eligible to vote. The results are expected to come out late Sunday night.

A total of 17 political parties representing 85 constituencies in 81 provinces are running in the election.